Hate spam? Kick it out of your in box

If you and your employees use work-related e-mail addresses, you probably face in boxes that bulge with spam, technically known as unsolicited commercial e-mail. And you're not alone in the battle against notices for low mortgage rates and questionable pharmaceuticals. According to the Spam Filter Review Web site (www.spam-filter-review.toptenreviews.com), more than 30 billion e-mails are sent every day. Some experts estimate that more than 40 percent of those are spam.

These helpful strategies can help minimize your spam load-and save you time:

• Regularly purge all the cookies from your Web browser.
• Consider purchasing a spam filter.
• Avoid using instant messaging services on work computers.
• Set up an alias e-mail address and use that when you're forced to register to access a site. Spam from that site or from sites that buy your e-mail address will then accumulate in this little-used account.